Clamp for button sewing machines



Aug. 11, 193.6- F. L. JENNINGS- CLAMP FOR BUTTON SEWING MACHINES Filed July 25, 1955 INVENTOR Patented Aug. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OF FlaCE CLAMP FOR BUTTON SEWING MACHINES Frank L. Jennings, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application July 23,

8 Claims.

The object of the invention is to provide improvements in clamps of that type, which are primarily employed for the purpose of securely gripping and fixedly positioning buttons, while they are being sewed to garments such as ladies coats and dresses in particular.

Heretofore, clamps of this nature have been primarily adapted to grip relatively small buttons, and when necessary to adapt them to relatively larger buttons, they have failed to function with the same degree of eificiency, due largely to the fact that their jaws have comprised pivotally mounted members, which while contacting with diametrically opposite portions of small buttons, in the case of considerably larger buttons contacted with portions, between which the straight line of the geometrical chord would extend well to one side of the buttons center.

Another object therefore is to provide a clamp of this type in which the jaw members are maintained at all times in parallel relation, and move bodily towards and away from each other, thereby contacting consistently with diametrically opposite portions of buttons, whether they are of small or large diameter, while a third jaw member, forming a third point of support for a button, and also a means for limiting the movement of a button to a centralized position, when being inserted between said first jaws, moves simultaneously at right angles to the line of movement of said first jaws.

In addition to the foregoing, the invention comprises further details of construction and operation, which are hereinafter fully brought out in the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an improved clamp with its jaws positioned to grip small buttons;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the jaws positioned so as to grip a much larger button;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the clamp as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a similar plan view of the improved clamp with its two nether face plates removed; and

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawing, one embodiment of the invention comprises a jaw holder, initially formed of a body member I having a centrally disposed longitudinally extending slot 2, and at one end being provided with a bracket or extension 3, in turn having a pair of slots 4 or other means, by which said member may be fixedly secured to the working platform or base of a button sewing machine. The under side of said 1935, Serial No. 32,711

body member is cut away so as to receive a pair of removable plates 5, which abut against a shoulder 6 in one direction, and are normally secured in inoperative position by screws or other suitable means I, while the adjacent rectilinear surfaces 8 of said plates are parallel and spaced apart, so as to comprise a guide for the longitudinally slidable member 9, which terminates forwardly in a jaw I0, preferably provided with a recess II in which the edge of a button is adapted to enter, 10 and thereby be prevented from vertical movement or vibration when operatively supported by the clamp, as hereinafter described.

Beneath the said removable plates 5 and also beneath the jaw member 9, when the clamp is in inverted position as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the body member I of saidcl-amp is further provided with a transversely extending channel defined by oppositely positioned walls I2, in said channel there being positioned a pair of superh imposed jaw plates I3 and It, said last-mentioned plates being provided with diagonally extending slots I3 and I4, which are angularly related to each other, and thru. which extends a bolt or other suitable member I5, which at its normally upper limit extends also thru the slot 2 in the body portion I of said clamp, while the lower end of said bolt is secured within an aperture I6 in the jaw member 9. Each of the jaw members I3 and I 4 is provided with forwardly extending projections I1, which at their forward limits are directed inwardly at I8 and thence normally downwardly at I9, and provided with grooves 20, which are in thesame plane with the corresponding groove II in the downwardly extending jaw ID of the jaw member 9.

Referring again to Figs. 1 and 2, the normal upper end of the bolt I5 extends thru a slot in a lever 2|, which lever is pivotally secured at 22 to a second lever 23. Said last-mentioned lever is movable with respect to the clamp body I thru an arc, and is provided with an extension 24, which cooperates with a flange 25 carried by the bolt l5, to limit the forward movement of said bolt and the corresponding movement of the three buttonengageable jaws towards each other, when the lever 23 is secured in temporarily fixed position by means of a suitable thumb-screw 26 or the like carried by said clamp body. Extending between the projections I1 is an extension spring 21, which tends to bring said projections and the jaws connected therewith together in binding relation with a button 28, and thru the medium of the slots I3 and I4 and the bolt I5 said spring being operative to also simultaneously force the jaw I into engagement with said button.

In the operation of this device, it will be noted that manually forcing the free end portion of the lever 2| rearwardly, by contact with a fingerengageable portion 29, causes the bolt [5 to likewise move rearwardly, thereby directly shifting the jaw member 9 rearwardly, and forcing the jaws 20 away from each other thru the medium of the corresponding jaw plates and their respective slots, the rearward movement of the lever 2| manually being against the tension of the spring 27. Having determined upon a succession of buttons of a relatively large diameter, the forward movement of the lever 2i and bolt I5 is limited by setting the lever 23, so that movement of the laws 20 towards each other is limited to a minimum degree of separation slightly less than the diameter of the buttons being run thereby making it easy to position or insert such large-size buttons between said jaws prior to their being sewed to a garment. Also, with the use of the spring 27 available, manual or automatic opening of said jaws is alone necessary, as the jaws are again brought towards each other by the force of Said spring, upon the removal of the button from the position in which it is operatively gripped by the clamp while being attached to a garment or other object.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:--

1. A button clamp, comprising a pair of jaw members provided with diagonally positioned, angularly disposed cam surfaces, and means movable in contact with said surfaces to shift said members towards and away from each other in rectilinear paths.

2. A button clamp, comprising a pair of jaw members provided with angularly disposed slots having divergent cam surfaces, and movable in opposite directions in alignment with each other, and a third member extending thru said slots and movable in a direction transverse to the line of motion of said members, to cause said first members to simultaneously move towards and away from each other.

3. A button clamp, comprising a pair of jaw members provided with diagonally related cam surfaces, and movable in opposite directions in alignment with each other, and a third jaw member movable in a direction angularly related to the line of motion of said first members, and cooperating with said surfaces to cause simultaneous movement of all three of said members towards or away from one another.

4. A button clamp, comprising a pair of jaw 5 members provided with angularly related slots defined respectively by oppositely positioned parallel cam surfaces, said members being movable in opposite directions in alignment with each other, and a third jaw member movable in a di- 10 rection transverse to the line of motion of said first members, and having a projection extending into said slots and cooperating with said surfaces, to cause all three of said members to move either towards or away from one another simultaneously.

5. A button clamp, comprising a pair of jaw members provided with diagonally positioned, angularly disposed cam surfaces, means movable in contact with said surfaces to shift said members towards and away from each other in rectilinear paths, and means to maintain a minimum distance between said jaw members.

6. A button clamp, comprising a pair of jaw members provided with angularly disposed slots having divergent cam surfaces and movable in opposite directions in alignment with each other,

a third member extending thru said slots and movable in a direction transverse to the line of motion of said members to cause said first membars to simultaneously move towards and away from each other, and adjustable means to maintain a variable minimum distance between said jaw members.

'7. A button clamp, comprising a pair of jaw members provided with diagonally related cam surfaces, and movable in opposite directions in alignment with each other, a third jaw member movable in a direction angularly related to the line of motion of said first members, and coop- 40 crating with said surfaces to cause simultaneous movement of all three of said members towards or away from one another, and means to maintain a minimum distance between said jaw members.

8. A button clamp, comprising a pair of separable jaw members movable uniformly throughout their respective lengths in a rectilinear path,

a third jaw member movable in a path angularly disposed with relation to said first path, and means connecting said members and operative to 5 move all of said members simultaneously.

FRANK L. JENNINGS. 

